National, International, Armenia, and Community News and Opinion

22 The Armenian Reporter | September 6, 2008Editorialthe armenianreporterCommentaryWelcome the Gül visitor protest it?The debates around kitchen tables in Southern California, at church picnics in the MiddleAtlantic, at cafés in Armenia, in living rooms in Russia, at clubhouses in the Middle East– and online – began as soon as the announcement was made in June.The president of Armenia, speaking to Armenians in Moscow, announced that he wasgoing to invite the president of Turkey to Yerevan to watch the World Cup qualifying soccermatch between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey. Writing in the Wall StreetJournal on July 9, he made the announcement again. The invitation went out. Deputy AssistantSecretary of State Matthew Bryza could not hide his joy. The Turkish administration– bogged down at the time with a court challenge to its legitimacy – was noncommittal in itsresponse. Then the war in Georgia happened, Turkey announced its intention to enhanceits role as a regional power broker, and next thing you know, the Turkish president, AbdullahGül, has dispatched an advance team to prepare for his arrival.As it appeared that Mr. Gül would indeed come, the debates intensified: Should Armeniawelcome the president of Turkey, or should he be greeted with protests?The case for welcoming the president was straightforward: The people of Armenia andTurkey alike have an interest in normal, good-neighborly relations. For all practical purposes,the process of establishing such relations stopped over a decade ago. While Armeniahas done quite well for itself despite Turkey’s closing of the land border between the twocountries, the war in Georgia was a reminder of the desirability of alternative routes for thetransportation of essential goods.The soccer match in Yerevan was an opportunity for Armenia to demonstrate goodwilland make an effort to restart the process.The case for greeting Mr. Gül with protests was likewise straightforward: Turkey continuesto enjoy the material fruits of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–17 and rather than comingto terms with our collective past and its obligations to the victims, Mr. Gül’s administrationcontinues the policy of vigorously denying the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, theclosing of the land border with Armenia cannot be seen in any way but an effort to starveArmenia into submission in the matter of Karabakh. How could the president of Turkeystep foot in Armenia without facing a word of protest?So which is it? Welcome or protest?Why not both? Armenians can welcome the initiative of the Armenian administration,which is showing goodwill and making an effort to jumpstart a dormant process. At thesame time, Armenians can show that they are not cowed by Turkey’s closing of the border.As Turkish officials reiterate their preconditions for the normalization of relations – unacceptableconcessions in Karabakh, acquiescence in the Turkish denial of the ArmenianGenocide, and the renunciation of any territorial claims against Turkey – the Armenianadministration needs to be able to demonstrate to them that the Armenian people simplywill not tolerate such preconditions.fAn undignified moveThe Armenian Football Federation chose this week as the time to unveil a new logo.Whereas the old logo featured a representation of Mount Ararat, the new one featuresArmenia’s coat of arms – with the middle part, where Mount Ararat appears in the coat ofarms – obsured by a soccer ball.Did Turkey object to the representation of Mount Ararat on the logo? We asked the obviousquestion. The president of the Armenian Football Federation, Ruben Hairepetian, saidno. He said fans found the old one unappealing. Since the state is supporting the federation,he added, it seemed appropriate to use the coat of arms of the republic.This explanation does little credit to the football federation. If aesthetics were the issue,surely a decent graphic designer could do better than to superimpose a soccer ball on thecountry’s coat of arms. Is a heraldic symbol like the coat of arms even fitting as a sportslogo?It’s not like we insist that Mount Ararat must remain on every logo it has ever graced.Indeed, it used to be part of the Reporter’s logo and no longer is. But the timing of the announcementis unfortunate at best.The situation was not helped by Mr. Hairapetian’s unfortunate choice of words: “Historythat happened 100 years ago, of course is painful, but let’s not turn this match into apolitical show.”We trust Armenia’s national soccer team will play a vigorous, smart, and enjoyable gametoday. And we hope to see more maturity on the part of the folks who manage the team. fLettersImagine Azerbaijanipeddlers in StepanakertSir:Emil Sanamyan raises a very important pointabout the possibility of war between Armeniaand Azerbaijan in “Ossetia War: Lessonsfor Armenia” (August 23). The conventionalview in Armenia is that this would be a verysobering lesson for Azerbaijanis. And, yes,Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev has proven to bea far more astute statesman than Georgia’sMikheil Saakashvili will ever be. But as thewar in Ossetia showed, a decision to launchthe war might not be based on rational decisionmaking. Who would have thoughtthat Saakashvili would be stupid enough toplunge headlong into the trap the Russianshave been setting up for him all these years?I was in South Ossetia last year. In Tskhinvali,I ran into a group of Georgian peasantsselling fruits and vegetables in the market.Georgians had organized an entire congressof Ossetians still living in Georgia.Can you imagine Armenians and Azerbaijanistrading in Stepanakert? All these yearsthe Azerbaijanis have been primed for anothergenocide. It’s absolutely terrifying toread their papers and realize the level of hatredthey feel toward Armenians.Very truly yours,Levon SevuntsMontrealWhat is a precedent?Sir:This is in response to Emil Sanamyan’s commentaryon the war in Ossetia and Russia’snew assertiveness, “Ossetia War: Lessons forArmenia” (August 23).I usually approach issues like this withthe assumption that when there is a will,people might look for a way to do something,but that when there is a will and away, things will happen almost inevitably.The “way” is post-Yeltsin Russia, the priceof oil, the gullibility of Saakashvili, etc. Thewill, I expect, is both the general desireto tell the world Russia is back, but morespecifically, Kosovo and the unbelievablycomplacent, not to say arrogant, Westernattitude that (1) there are no precedentsin the “court” of international law; it’s notthe same as U.S. or British law; and (2) aprecedent is what we say it is, and we sayKosovo is not a precedent.Ossetia gave the Russians the way, Kosovothe will to talk back to that.Very truly yours,Khachig TölölyanWesleyan UniversityGold for “Bronze Age”Sir:I am writing regarding your special pulloutsection in the August 23 issue of the ArmenianReporter, entitled, “Armenia’s BronzeAge.” I felt I had to write to express mythanks for the wonderful coverage you hadof Armenia’s Olympic team in Beijing. Thecolor photos and the in-depth informationabout Armenia’s athletes, not only in thesegames, but in history was truly educationaland inspirational.It’s good to know that young Armenianboys and girls in the homeland have rolemodels to look up to. Winning a medal inthe Olympic Games is a major achievement,not only for the individual athlete but for theentire country. Taking into consideration thevery difficult journey of any athlete, coupledwith the extra burdens athletes in a developingcountry like Armenia must face, it ispretty miraculous the success these youngathletes have achieved.Bravo to all our athletes and to all thosewho support them.Very truly yours,Lena AznavourianPasadena, Calif.A job well doneSir:For a long time I have wanted to tell youhow much I appreciate your newspaper. But Inever got around to it. Now I have the August23 issue in front of me and I know I shouldn’tprocrastinate any more.The Armenian Reporter is raising the barfor Armenian journalism almost every week.Your reporter went to Georgia to cover thewar there. Your reporters talked to Armenia’sOlympic medalists and their coach. Your reporterstalked to people in Glendale to seewhat they think of a city council memberwho might not like Armenians much. Yourreporter catches up with three generationsof one family, visiting Armenia from the eastcoast and the west coast. Your writer talksto an Armenian jazz legend. Your columnistreads Saroyan on [Saroyan’s] 100th birthday.Your reporter gives us a one-stop source forwhat happened in Georgia. Your editorialsand commentaries provide insight, not justbrave words.All in one week!And the paper looks good. I am proud toshare it with my friends.Thank you. Thank you. Keep up the goodwork!Very truly yours,Mark SafariGlendale, Calif.Tell us what you think.Write to letters@reporter.amor call 1-201-226-1995 (N.J.), 1-818-955-9933 (Calif.), 374-10-367-195 (Armenia)Armenian Reporter (ISSN 0004-2358), an independent newspaper,is published weekly by Armenian Reporter llc.Gerard L. Cafesjian, President and ceoPublisher Sylva A. BoghossianOffice manager Lisa KopooshianCopyright © 2008 by ArmenianReporter llc. All Rights ReservedPeriodicals postage paid at Paramus, N.J., andadditional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO Box129, Paramus, NJ 07652-0129.The views expressed, except in the editorial, arenot necessarily those of the publishers.Editor Vincent LimaWestern U.S. Bureau Chief andArts & Culture editor Paul ChaderjianWashington editor Emil SanamyanAssociate editor Maria TitizianAssistant to the Editor Seda StepanyanCopy editor Ishkhan JinbashianArt director Grigor HakobyanLayout assistant Nareh BalianThe Armenian Reporter is your newspaper. We urge you to send us your news and yourviews.News. Please send your news to .Letters. Please send your letters to Letters should be no morethan 250 words long and may be edited for clarity. Please include your mailing addressand daytime telephone number.Commentary. Please send your essays to Essays and articlesnormally should be no longer than 900 words.Photos and artwork. We require high-resolution originals. 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